


Famine to Feast

by junkster



Series: Numbered Days [2]
Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Girlfriends/No Wives, Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, Food Kink, Hurt/Comfort, Josh is a Chef, Link is a Hacker, M/M, Multi, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Recovery, Rhett is a Spy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-06
Updated: 2019-12-06
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:55:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21609682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/junkster/pseuds/junkster
Summary: Still holed up in the safe house, Link's not thrilled with the idea of Stevie sending them their own personal chef to keep them on the straight and narrow - until he finds out it's Josh, that is. (Edited to add Chapter 2).
Relationships: Rhett McLaughlin/Josh Scherer, Rhett McLaughlin/Link Neal, Rhett McLaughlin/Link Neal/Josh Scherer
Series: Numbered Days [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1559131
Comments: 12
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [mission success](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21555745) by [serpentkinglink](https://archiveofourown.org/users/serpentkinglink/pseuds/serpentkinglink). 

> Thanks again to serpentkinglink for letting me write in her !!Spy!! world - I really appreciate it! If you haven't already, you should start with her wonderful fic 'mission success' and then probably read my previous one, ['Shamelessly So Unafraid'](https://archiveofourown.org/chapters/51489970?show_comments=true&view_full_work=false#comment_265076782) too, for this one to make the most sense. 
> 
> I love Josh. Josh makes me happy. Therefore, Josh gets some love.  
  
  


“D’you hear any of that?” 

Rhett looks up from his book, setting it pages-down on his chest to keep his place. “Only your side of the argument.”

Link rolls his eyes. “Stevie’s sending us a babysitter.”

“Huh?”

“She says the situation’s bad out there and we’re gonna be stuck here for at least another week, and she doesn’t want us eating cheeseburgers every day and ruining our figures.”

Rhett frowns. “A babysitter?”

“Josh, to be exact.”

“Oh...Josh is coming here?”

“Yeah, man, keep up. She wants him to cook for us, keep us healthy, all’a that crap. She also said something about him stopping us from killing each other, which,” Link drops to a crouch next to the sofa, reaching out to turn Rhett’s face towards him and smiling, “I really don’t think she quite understands the situation, y’know?” 

He leans in, pressing a soft kiss to Rhett’s lips.

“‘S’gonna cramp our style a little, man,” he murmurs against the corner of Rhett’s mouth. “Unless Josh is really into voyeurism.”

Rhett’s eyebrows rise a little. “Well,” he says, brushing another kiss to Link’s mouth between words. “Josh is into a _lot_ of things.”

  
  
  
***  
  
  


They’ve known Josh for about a year. He appeared at the headquarters one day, a slightly nerdy looking, socially awkward but incredibly endearing presence in the main kitchen. Stevie said she’d brought him on board to provide high-quality, performance-enhancing meals, stuff that would compliment their heavy training sessions and cater for those with specific dietary needs. He had a team of cooks behind him but he was always there, always working, even at weird hours of the night or at the crack of dawn, baking bread or making pasta from scratch. Despite following Stevie’s wishes to the letter, he’d developed a reputation for going off piste, occasionally supplementing the chicken and pasta and vegetables with experimental creations - some incredible, some truly...eclectic. 

Rumours flew about where he came from, who he really was, why the hell he had bigger biceps than half of the trained agents, whether he was actually spying on them for Stevie, whether he had a life outside of work...but no one got that close to him. He was friendly, funny and talented, but he was kind of a lone wolf. Never really left the department, as far as anyone knew.

Until now, that is.

  
  
  
***  
  
  


Josh arrives with what looks like a month’s worth of food, five huge boxes carried in by himself and Kevin, who’s looking decidedly tired of his ‘light duties’ and who swipes a can of coke from their fridge before he goes. 

“Hey, you weren’t quite straight with me about Eddie the other day,” he admonishes Link, rubbing a hand over his ribs and leaning on the counter by the sink. 

“Sorry,” Link says, nose screwed up in apology. “I didn’t wanna worry you, ‘s’all. He okay?”

“Yeah, he’s got a fucker of a bruise like a bullseye on his chest, and he split his knuckles wailing on some guy that tried to stick him with a needle, but otherwise, yeah. I think he was a little affected by finding you guys like that,” he says, glancing at Rhett in particular. 

“Tell him the drinks are on us when we get back.”

“And tell him thanks,” Rhett adds, the words heartfelt.

Kevin smiles, raising his can in promise. “I will. Well, I gotta go. Stevie’s probably got some toilet paper she needs me to stack, or something. See ya, Josh,” he waves as he heads for the door. “Don’t forget to do the trotters for Link. He loves gelatinous food. _Loves_ it!”

The door closes and Link looks at Josh with genuine trepidation. “Whatever he’s told you, please, please wipe it from your brain, okay?”

Josh beams, throws his personal bag down into a corner and starts memorising the layout of the kitchen, every drawer opened, every cupboard investigated. “I think I’m pretty au fait with your weird food fears by now, man.”

“Trotters?” Link echoes, nose wrinkled in disgust. “Who actually eats those?”

“I have,” Rhett offers, at the same time as Josh says “Me!”

“You’re both gross and despicable human beings.” 

“Don’t worry,” Josh says, looking between his five boxes before choosing number three. He crouches down, pulls open the lid and waves a huge jar of peanut butter at Link. “I’m here for you, bro.”

Link’s eyes light _up_.

  
  
  
***  
  
  


It turns out that having Josh around the place isn’t as weird as Link thought it might be. The house is big enough for all three of them, a bedroom downstairs for Josh, another upstairs for them, en-suite bathrooms in both. Josh spends most of his time in the kitchen, reading food blogs or catching up on sports on his phone, doing impressive numbers of push-ups and pull-ups whenever he gets antsy. He’s easy-going as hell, and Link can’t say he doesn’t appreciate having another alert pair of eyes and ears in the house. 

If Josh has any opinions on them sharing a bed he doesn’t voice them, and the first time he sees Link press a brief kiss to Rhett’s lips he just smiles and goes back to chopping cilantro, this incredible smell of Thai curry filling the kitchen.

  
  
  
***  
  
  


“Are you okay, man?” Link asks on Josh’s third morning with them, leaning his forearms on the island counter and watching the flash of the blade as it slices through apple like butter. 

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Josh says easily, glancing at him as he reaches for another apple. “Why?”

“Sometimes you really seem like you’re holding yourself in, y’know? Like you’re in your own world.”

“I do?” 

“Yeah. I know it’s none of my business, but if you need..._anything_, just let us know, okay?” 

Josh’s expression remains blank as he dices fruit into perfect, identically-sized pieces, his band-aid-wrapped index finger pressing down at the top of the knife. 

“I have PTSD,” he offers up eventually, suddenly, using the knife to slide all of the apple into the pan on the stove. “So...you’re not wrong.” 

“Oh…” Link says quietly. “Sorry, man. I had no idea.”

“It’s not something I advertise, generally, but actually I’m really glad you asked.” Josh puts his knife down and rests his hip against the counter as he turns to look at Link properly, smiling. “It’s nice to have people who understand what’s going on if something happens. I wasn’t really intending for anyone to know but the bosses, but if anyone else had to know, I’m happy for it to be you guys.”

Link regards him thoughtfully, eyes ranging across Josh’s face, looking for discomfort but finding none. “We’re here, man. Whatever you need. So Stevie knows already?” 

“Yeah. I disclosed it voluntarily when they interviewed me. It’s not something you wanna surprise your employers with, really.”

“They took it okay?” 

“Yeah, I mean, it’s something you come across in this business, right? They sat me down and we talked about adjustments they could make and how to avoid triggers and such.”

Link reaches out to move the knife from under Josh’s elbow as it starts to migrate towards the edge of the counter. “When you say ‘this business’, you mean…?”

“I was the equivalent of Rhett for five years,” Josh admits. “In a different state, though, up in Philly actually.”

“You were a field agent? Guess that explains the physique, huh? I did wonder why we have the buffest chef I’ve ever seen in my life.” 

“I try to keep in shape now I’m not losing the calories running for my life every other day anymore. Kinda hard to give up bench presses once you get the guns, y’know?”

“I’m impressed by ‘em,” Link says honestly.

“Thanks,” Josh says, smiling sweetly. “You ever want a gym buddy, let me know.” 

Link pulls a face. “Rhett’s more likely to take you up on that, I’ll tell you right now. He’s the dedicated one.” 

“Hey, you can’t fool me. You’re the most in-shape computer genius I’ve seen in a long time.”

Link grins at that and reaches out to snag a slice of green apple from the chopping board. “Can I ask what your triggers are, so I can help you avoid them?” 

“Sure. I mean, it’s blood, mostly. Not small amounts like if I cut my finger, but significant amounts, on other people. If it’s fresh and dark and visibly running, then...hey. Watch out. Oh, and that new car smell has the same effect, weirdly.” 

“What’re your symptoms?” Link asks quietly. 

“I have panic attacks, really vivid flashbacks, nausea, dissociation...all that good stuff. Sometimes just a smell can set it off, y’know, or a sound? And then I’m usually in a pretty bad way for a good while.”

“Yeah,” Link says, eyes flicking towards the front door. “Rhett’s the same. It’s scary enough for me to see it, so I can’t imagine what it’s like for you guys.”

Josh looks up at him, eyes thoughtful and soft with understanding, then back down at his chopping board, busying himself with slicing through the thick skin of a pineapple. “Kind of a hazard of the job, huh?”

“You didn’t lose your partner, did you?” Link asks, worry creasing his brow. "Is that what it was?"

“Nah. I mean, almost. He’s still working, actually, just...with someone else.”

Link hesitates for a long moment before asking quietly: “What happened to you, Josh?” 

There’s a ‘thunk’ as the knife shoots down through rough skin and sharp yellow flesh and slams into the chopping board, Josh pulling his hands away sharply at the sudden give, his fists balling as he takes a step back. He takes a breath, then another, then moves to sit on the stool next to Link’s, propping his elbow on the counter with a sigh. 

“Fucking pineapples,” he says, tugging off his baseball cap and squashing it in his hands. His hair’s short, almost military in its neatness. Link realises he hasn’t ever actually seen the top of Josh’s head before.

“I was in a car wreck about a year ago,” Josh begins, meeting Link’s eyes for just a second before fixing his gaze on his hands, playing absently with his cap. “Me and my partner and two of our crew, tactical hostage recovery guys. Ray and Danny. A truck ran a stop sign, t-boned us, actually shunted us right into an oncoming bus. I was in the back, had my seatbelt on, me and my partner came out of it with a little whiplash, some cuts and bruises and minor concussions, but the front of the car was mashed up against the bus and the other guys were basically crushed in front of me, so…”

He trails off for a while, looking towards the counter and the pan on the stove, reaching out absently to turn the heat off.

“When I was a kid, my grandma used to cook all kinds of weird stuff, pig blood and brains and stuff. I actually used to love making it and eating it, but...you throw a brain down on my chopping board now I’ll probably pass out. Kind of a shame, really.”

Link gazes at him wanly, eyes soft with anguish, unable to return the small, crooked smile Josh shoots his way. He reaches out, curling a hand around Josh’s left wrist. 

“My partner was out cold for the whole thing, woke up in hospital afterwards. He couldn’t understand why I was freaking out every time I had to get in a car with him. He couldn’t be sure that I wouldn’t zone out at the wrong time mid-case, and I felt I couldn’t protect him anymore, so...I left. Technically, I guess I was pushed.”

“I’m so sorry, man. Didn’t they provide counselling?”

Josh shoots him a look. “Rhett keeps his counselling appointments?”

Link opens his mouth to answer, then shuts it again, tipping his head to concede the point. 

Josh shakes his head. “There wasn’t enough time to recover. They needed me back out in the field and I was a liability.”

“You could try again,” Link suggests earnestly. “Here, I mean. Our occupational health department’s pretty great.”

“Maybe one day. I’m feeling a surprising amount of work fulfillment just making food for you guys, actually. Chef was my second career choice, y’know?”

Link sits back and gives Josh a little space, reaching for another slice of apple and regarding him pensively. “Thanks for talking to me, man,” he says. “Want me to do that pineapple for you?”

Josh’s eyes go from the knife, to Link, then back again. He clears his throat, stands back up, and smoothes down his apron. “Hey, I’m on it. Thanks, though.”

Link grins. “You’re getting to know me, huh?”

Josh smiles as he starts slicing the pineapple again, his aim smooth and skillful this time. “Tell me more about you and Rhett. Tell me something I don’t know.”

“What _do_ you know?”

“I know he’s the spy, you’re the hacker. You’re best friends. You’re from North Carolina. You’re...in love?”

Link blinks, a little surprised to hear those words out loud, but he nods. “Yeah, that about sums us up, I guess.”

“That’s allowed here?” Josh asks. “We had one of those ‘no workplace relationships’ rules in our place.”

“It’s actually never come up, so I guess as long as it’s not disrupting partnerships or causing problems then it’s okay. Stevie knows, and if Stevie ain’t happy, you know about it, lemme tell you.”

“That’s awesome. I mean, it’s only natural to get close to the person who your life depends on, right?”

Link nods, chewing thoughtfully on his apple. “We have a little bit of a ‘share and share alike’ thing going on in this company, y’know? I feel like you should know about it, since you're one of us now. We’re all pretty easy going. We had these guys, _great_ guys, Mike and Alex. They were together, partners and more, but I had a bit of a connection with Alex, and Rhett and Mike had this certain spark at times. I remember one mission all four of us went on, real punishing, real bad. We got outta there by the skin of our teeth and when we got to the safehouse it was like…” Link pauses, shaking his head as he tries to word it. “It was like this mass expression of relief. We just kind of fell on each other, just needing to feel that each other was alive, y’know? It was kinda crazy, but we needed it, I guess.”

“You didn’t feel jealous?”

“Nah,” Link shakes his head with conviction. “Whenever I saw Mike and Rhett together, whether they were just sitting in companionable silence, or wolfing down their food, or patching each other up, I just felt glad. I mean, I had the same thing with Alex. If you’re not an agent then you can never quite get what that experience is like, and if you’re not a hacker then the same thing goes. We were all good for each other.”

“There’s some pretty awful past-tense usage going on here, man,” Josh says wistfully. “If this is going where I think it’s going, then I’m really sorry.”

Link’s mouth forms a straight line of grim affirmation as he nods. “Mike didn’t make it out of a mission. Alex was so broken up he had to leave. I haven’t seen him in a year or so.”

“So you and Rhett both lost your other partners in crime.” 

“Yeah. And don’t get me wrong, man, I loved both those guys. We both did. It was a really hard time.”

Josh shakes his head as he turns the heat back on under the pan on the stove. “It’s a hell of a job.”

“Yeah. Rhett...I mean, Rhett could’a died this time. It was a close thing.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. That’s why Stevie sent you, I think. Rhett loves food and he forgets to look after himself sometimes. Between me ‘n’ you, I think we can get him right with a little TLC.”

  
  
  
***  
  
  


“You really like to eat, huh,” Josh remarks fondly, propping his chin up with his hand as he watches Rhett savour the last bite of cake with blissfully closed eyes. He’s been experimenting with perfecting a chocolate and whisky cake, a task that’s seemed to involve a healthy amount of whisky going down his own throat throughout the afternoon. Rhett had joined him after the third and final cake had come out of the oven, sitting and watching as Josh prepared the frosting and, naturally, getting to share the first slice.

Rhett starts to smile even before he opens his eyes, licking his thumb as he meets Josh’s gaze.

“You have no idea,” he says frankly, tackling each finger individually. “I can’t help it, man, I’m always hungry. Always have been.” 

“Oh, me too. I love that. I make some pretty weird things sometimes and you’re always just there being pleasantly surprised. You’re brave about putting things in your mouth, and I respect that.”

Rhett’s eyebrows rise a little as he tries to hide a smirk, glancing up at Josh’s amused eyes as he wipes frosting off his hands with a napkin. “Try anything once, man, that’s what I always say.”

“Oh, at least once,” Josh agrees. “Here, you’ve got a little…” He leans in to catch a little smudge of icing sugar from Rhett’s beard with another napkin before he’s leaning back again, tossing it into the trash.

“Thanks,” Rhett says quietly.

“I mean it though,” Josh carries on, folding his hands in his lap as he talks earnestly. “You’re just about as adventurous as me when it comes to food, and I wanted you to know that I appreciate it.”

“Well we appreciate you, man. You’ve breathed some new life into things at work. You’re incredibly talented.”

“You know...I’ve literally never felt as hooked on approval from the people I cook for as I do with you two, and I have no idea why. I mean, I like you guys a lot and you’re both really, really nice people and everything, and okay, you’re really tall, and that’s a thing for me, but I don’t understand why I get so nervous about pleasing you. You come back from missions sometimes and hit the kitchen at two in the morning and you still have the energy to shoot the breeze with me. It’s like you guys light the place up. It kind of makes my day when I see you, actually.”

Rhett stares for a moment, digesting that stream of words, his brow creasing. “Hold on, back up...what was that about me being tall? You mean I’m intimidating? I don’t mean to be, if -”

“No, no,” Josh interrupts him again, hands spread to halt Rhett’s train of thought. “I mean...yes. Or…” he tails off, steepling his fingers with a frown. “What I mean is, you’re really tall, and that’s kind of intimidating, but I _like that.” _

“Oh.” Rhett regards him pensively for a long moment, clearly trying to decide which line to cross first.

“It’s not something I’ve ever really thought about before, man, so I don’t know whether it’s that I like to feel small, or just…there’s a lot of you, Rhett. You’ve got big hands and long fingers, and when you’re eating things I’ve made and you close your eyes you’ve got these long eyelashes, and you’re just...” Josh shrugs a shoulder helplessly. He’s apparently very much all-in now, honesty pouring out of him. “You’re really sensual, man, and it’s really hot. Sorry if that’s super weird.” 

“Well, no one’s ever called me sensual before, so thank you, first of all. Second of all, you’re incredibly ripped, Josh. I should not be intimidating to you, at all.”

“I’m a little gym-obsessed right now,” Josh admits. “That’s probably a sign of something, right? Lack of confidence?”

“You look amazing.”

“Well, thank you. It’s nice to be a buff nerd, y’know? Kind of flips people’s expectations a little bit.” 

“You’re not a nerd, man.”

“Oh, I’m a food nerd, for sure.” 

“So you’ve got brains and brawn.”

“Did you know brawn is what they call head-cheese in Europe?”

“So there’s literally the brain, and then there’s the rest of the head - the brawn?”

“Exactly! That’s where that comes from. The brain and the muscle.”

“Always learning when I’m around you, man.” 

“I appreciate you listening when I start spouting food facts. Food is so fascinating, you know?”

“You enter, like, this zen state in the kitchen. I really enjoy just watching you, actually. It’s kind of relaxing.” 

“Come and hang out any time, man. It’s always nice to have company.”

“I’ll remember that,” Rhett promises, eyes wandering across the empty plates spread across the worktop. “I’m harking back a little here, but, you said you get nervous about making us happy?”

“I think I said ‘nervous about _pleasing_ you’, which is even more embarrassing.” 

“You’re not afraid to put it all out there, are you?” 

Josh smiles as he looks down at his hands. “I’ve been told it’s a social no-no, but I prefer to just say stuff and deal with the consequences afterwards.” 

“Yeah, you’re a lot like Link in that respect. I don’t want you to be nervous around us, man.”

Josh squints up at him self-consciously. “I think I like the buzz. It’s like being head chef on a restaurant’s opening night. It’s good adrenaline.”

“You always seem like the most calm and collected person in the whole company, at work.” 

“It’s not like I’m freaking out,” Josh explains, “it’s just...it’s a frisson, y’know?” 

“A frisson?” 

“Right. It’s exciting.” 

Rhett leans back on his stool, regarding Josh with a thoughtful smile. He weighs everything up, considers being careful, then decides to throw caution to the wind. “Are you drunk, right now?”

“Not even close.”

“Then can I say something inappropriate?”

“Please. Take the mantle off me for a second.”

Rhett’s smile slides into a smirk.

“Tell me some of the things you’d like to put in my mouth.”

  
  
  
***  
  
  


“_Gosh_, it smells good in here - what is that?” 

“It’s cinnamon cookies.” 

“I followed my nose here all the way from the garden, man. So good.” 

“You want one? They’re still hot, be careful.” 

Link perches up on the counter next to the sink and holds his coffee in one hand and his cookie in the other, eyes closed as he breathes in the combined aromas. 

Josh leans against the island and watches. “Wow. It really is you, too, huh?”

“‘S’cuse me?” Link blinks at him, lifting his temporarily ineffectual glasses up onto his head, steamed up from the coffee.

Josh looks at him imploringly. “The eyes as well? That’s not fair at all.” 

Link’s brows draw together as he cocks his head. “What’s wrong, man? Is it the counter? You want me to get my tush off here?” 

“You’re really handsome,” Josh says helplessly. “Did you talk to Rhett?” 

“‘Bout what? And uh, thank you?” Link flashes a bemused smile.

“About a conversation we had earlier.” 

“No. I don’t think so.” 

“Oh.” Josh drums the fingers of one hand on the top of the island worktop. “In that case, I’m sorry I called you handsome out of the blue.”

Link shrugs a shoulder. “Who doesn’t like to be called handsome?” 

"Okay, then retract that retraction.” 

“I don’t…” Link stops, shakes his head, puts his glasses back down on his nose. “What’s going on, Josh? You’re confusing the hell outta me.” 

“I mean, I may as well tell you, I guess, since I’ve already confided in one of you.”

“This thing you talked to Rhett about?”

“Yeah. I kind of told him how hot I think he is.”

“Oh…” Link pauses, digesting this new information. “I didn’t know you were into dudes, man, but hey - good taste. What did he say?” 

“Well, we talked about our shared love of food and how sensual it can be and I may or may not have told him I wanted to lick various things off of his body, and you know what? He was really cool about it.” 

“He was, huh?” 

“And I pretty much haven’t been able to concentrate ever since then, and now you’re here being equally hot and equally sensual, and I’m kind of a wreck right now, honestly.” 

“I’m sniffing a cookie, Josh,” Link says with fond amusement. 

“You’re breathing it in,” Josh corrects. “You’re breathing it in with your eyes closed and this look of bliss on your face.”

“Cookies make me happy, what can I say.”

“I’ve noticed.”

“So all those things you said to Rhett, you gonna say ‘em to me too?” 

“You wanna talk about pig brains?” 

“Skip that part, maybe.” 

“You’re sure you want me to say this stuff out loud? I can’t take it back once it’s out there, man. You won’t be able to unhear it.” 

“I’m aware of how talking works, Josh. And yeah, I wanna hear it all. Tell me what you wanna lick off my body.” 

Josh rolls his eyes, sighing. “You guys’re on the same wavelength, huh?” 

“Why, what’d he say?” 

“He asked me to tell him what I’d like to put in his mouth.” 

Link smirks. “Wow. We’re not making this easy on you, are we? D’you answer him?”

“I try to be honest when someone asks me a question. I figure you guys’re kind of my superiors, so...”

“Would you tell me what you told him?”

“You’re asking me?” 

“Yeah.”

“Okay.” Josh closes his eyes for a moment, steeling himself. “I think this was the order: Pizza from the best pizza joint in New York, honey dripping straight from the comb from the heather moors in Scotland, warm red grapes from a sun-drenched vineyard in Sicily,” Josh starts counting off on his fingers, “strawberries dripping with chocolate sauce…” He hesitates, opening his eyes to meet Link’s blue, intent gaze. “My fingers. My tongue…” 

Link holds up the remainder of his cookie. “C’m’over here,” he orders. “I want you to eat some of this.”

Josh does as he’s told wordlessly, leaning in to take a small bite of the cookie held between Link's fingers, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth as he chews, unable to stop a quiet sound of pleasure as cinnamon spreads warmly across his tongue. 

Link’s eyes are visibly darker as he sets his glasses aside, hooking an ankle around the back of Josh’s legs to bring him in between his knees. He throws the rest of the cookie to the side and as it bounces off the counter and onto the floor he takes either side of Josh’s face in his hands, murmurs "I'mma kiss you now, okay?", waits for Josh's helpless nod, and closes the gap between them, kissing him hard. Josh plants his hands on either side of Link's hips, flat on the counter-top, his heart racing as he tastes the coffee and cinnamon in Link's mouth, hears the faint sound of footsteps.

When they break apart, Josh keeps his eyes closed as Link chases another soft, brief kiss from him, his thumb tracing the curve of Josh's ear.

“I thought you were afraid of germs, man,” he murmurs.

Link's voice is warm with amusement. “You shouldn’t believe everything you hear about me, friend.”

Josh lets his hands slide up onto Link’s thighs, strong fingers pressing into muscle through denim. Even with his eyes closed, he feels the presence behind him. “Hey, Rhett”, he breathes, seconds before big hands come down on his shoulders and squeeze gently. 

“Hey, gorgeous,” Link adds, and as Josh opens his eyes he sees that bright, lop-sided grin that Link aims up at Rhett. “You joinin’ us?”

Rhett doesn't answer, just leans down and presses a kiss to the vertebra at the top of Josh’s back, the soft brush of his beard making Josh swallow, his fingers tightening on Link’s thighs. Link reaches out, curls a hand around the back of Rhett’s neck and guides him into a kiss over Josh’s shoulder, a slow, hungry thing that has Link humming softly in pleasure, Josh’s back arching as Rhett runs a hand slowly up and under his t-shirt, long fingers running over each knot of his spine. 

By the time they break the kiss, Josh is standing with his head down, his hands curled back around the edge of the counter, a look of wonder on his face as he watches Link lick his lower lip.

“You okay?” Link asks him, head cocked. “You look a little…”

“Just trying to process it, I guess,” Josh admits. “It’s kind of intense, y’know?”

“Sorry man, it’s my fault. I got a little carried away. I blame the cinnamon.”

“No, it’s okay. I mean, I’m sandwiched between two of my favourite people, so who’m I to complain? I’m just a little confused, I guess.”

“‘Bout what?” Rhett asks, the proximity of his voice to Josh’s ear making Josh shiver.

“Why this is happening. I know you said you guys were all about sharing and caring, but it’s kind of hard to see why you’d wanna let anyone else in on what you’ve got.”

“Me ‘n’, Rhett, we’re soulmates,” Link says earnestly, eyes drifting from Josh’s to Rhett’s, watching him with more than a hint of heat. “I mean, we’re not looking to turn what we’ve got into anything more complicated, you know what I mean? But we're curious as hell. Always have been.”

Josh nods, smiling at the turn of phrase. “I’m not looking for that either. Company is great, sex is great, love is great...but I don’t want a relationship right now. And aside from that, Stevie’s asked me to help with the set-up of a new branch of the company in Alaska and I said I’d do it. So I’m gonna be gone for a few months, at least.”

Rhett digs his thumbs into Josh’s shoulders in a slow, deep massage. “That sounds like a good opportunity, man.” 

“_Ah_, god...I think so. I hope so. But I’ll miss everyone, in the meantime.”

“And we’ll miss you,” Link says. “But mostly, we’ll miss your cooking.”

“Jerk,” Rhett says with a smirk.

“Just being honest, brother.” 

“I appreciate that,” Josh says, considering, “and I appreciate you guys letting me into your world, even if it’s just for tonight, or ‘til we get out of here, or whatever.”

“So we can give you a proper send-off, then,” Link decides, leaning back against the cupboard behind him, intentionally sending Josh’s eyes down towards the front of his jeans. “A little somethin’ to think about in those cold Alaskan nights.” 

Josh doesn’t have time to answer before Rhett’s hands are sliding his t-shirt up, and he's raising his arms instinctively to allow him to pull it off all the way. 

“Now here’s somethin’ for _us_ to appreciate,” Link says happily, head tilted as he leans forwards again, blue laser-beam eyes roaming across Josh’s broad shoulders. “Jeez. Seriously, the buffest chef you’ve _ever_ seen.”

Josh drags in a sharp little breath as Rhett’s hands curl around the sides of his ribcage, fingers slotting between bones. “Takes a lot of stamina to whisk eggs all day, man.”

“Oh, sure,” Link agrees, his attention already getting distracted as he leans in closer, frowning as his eyes follow a long, silvery scar that runs from the top of Josh’s right arm right down to his elbow. “What’s this? You break your arm?”

“Yeah. Got pushed out of a second storey window. Got a couple’a’ plates still in there, actually.”

“And this?” Rhett asks, voice low as he looks over Josh’s shoulder, running a finger slowly from the waist of Josh’s jeans to just below his sternum. Josh feels the hairs on his arms stand up at the sensation.

“Knife,” he says simply. “Someone tried to gut me.”

Link looks at him with blue eyes that shine with empathy, one of his hands coming up to touch Josh’s face, thumb carefully tracing the line of a cheekbone. 

“It’s a hell of a job,” he echoes tenderly.

Josh shares a mirthless, rueful smile with him, and Link puts his hands out to push at his shoulders. “Turn around,” he suggests, opening his knees wider to let Josh move. “Rhett, take your shirt off, man.”

Josh does as he’s told, turning until his back’s to Link and the counter and there’s Rhett, tall enough to block out the world behind him, to block out everything but Rhett. He’s holding his t-shirt in one hand, comfortable standing there under their scrutiny, his eyes soft with compassion.

“Take a good look,” Link says quietly. “Take a real good look, Josh.”

Josh does, his heart slowly sinking as he lets his eyes wander across Rhett’s body. It’s a lesson in scars, some recent, some old enough to have almost faded. Amongst those are the most recent injuries: the restraint marks around his wrists, the cuts all along his arm, the extensive, yellowing bruises across his chest. Josh knows that if Rhett were to turn around he’d see a whole lot more. 

“I’m older than you,” Rhett says softly, reading his mind. “I’ve had a lot more time to accrue these.”

“There’re so many,” Josh laments, reaching out to gently touch the edge of the bandage at Rhett’s wrist. “God, Rhett. You look like you’ve been through hell.”

“Just life,” Rhett says with a hint of a shrug, and then he’s leaning down and in and Josh’s thoughts are _wiped_, everything secondary to the feel of Rhett’s mouth on his, a soft, slow, lazy kiss that’s augmented by Link’s fingers sliding up the back of his neck and into the short hair at his crown, fingertips rubbing gently at his scalp. 

“Let’s forget about life for a while,” Link suggests, his voice a quiet temptation against Josh’s ear. 

“Yes please,” Josh says with feeling, as Rhett’s kisses move along the line of his jaw and to his other ear, one of his big hands spreading flat over Josh’s chest. 

“Mm’kay,” Link says, and there’s a sound of a glass bowl sliding across the counter-top. “Open your mouth for me, man.”

Josh doesn’t even question it as Link brings a hand around, one of his index fingers sliding into Josh’s mouth, covered in the melted chocolate he’d been using as a cake topping. Josh closes his eyes and sucks it clean, savouring it until Link pulls away, swallowing the rich taste.

“You know how many times I’ve wanted to suck icing off your fingers?” he asks, his train of thought almost, _almost_ derailed as Rhett presses up against his hip to make out with Link over his shoulder. “It’s off the charts,” he admits. “Sometimes it’s like this yearning for it, y’know? You’re there in the kitchen eating whatever, hands covered in icing, chocolate, hot sauce, whatever it is, and I have to dig my fingernails into my palms just to keep smiling benignly and not stare like an idiot.” 

Link's smiling so much Rhett has to pull back from their kiss, the pair of them sharing a look that’s full of heat and promise. 

Rhett curls a hand around Josh’s right wrist and lifts his arm, leaning down towards Josh's hand until his breaths are ghosting across the arteries under thin skin and Josh’s heart is desperately trying to beat its way out of his chest. Rhett closes his eyes and opens his mouth and drags one, long lick slowly, slowly along the length of Josh’s tattoo, muscle and sinews under his tongue. He stops at the crook of Josh’s elbow, licks his lips, kisses the soft, delicate skin there.

“Josh,” he murmurs, kissing his way up over that long, white scar. “Those things you said you wanted to put in my mouth. You got any of those?” He pauses at Josh’s collar bone, lips curving in a smile that Josh feels against his skin. “Aside from the things right here on your body.”

Josh suppresses the urge to moan. “I don’t think so, no. But, hey, we can improvise, right?”

Link smirks as he hops off the counter and opens the refrigerator, the buttons of his fly undone now. Josh is quickly coming to understand about Rhett’s multi-tasking fingers.

“How d'you feel about maple syrup, Rhett? Oh, and chocolate sauce.”

“I feel pretty good about that, Link,” Rhett answers, his voice a rumble against Josh’s throat as he bites down gently at the curve of his shoulder. “You?”

“Ah, I c’n work with it,” Link agrees, darkly delighted.

"You know, um, I don't think this is what Stevie sent me here to do," Josh says, bringing his hands up to either side of Rhett's throat and then up into his hair, letting curls twine between his fingers. 

"Her exact words to me were, 'he's there to help you recover'," Link says, putting a couple of jars down on the counter and hip-checking the door of the refrigerator closed. He grabs the half-empty bottle of whisky and adds it to his stash. "You've given us good food to eat for the last few days, you've made us laugh, you've been a good friend, you've been some pretty dang fine eye-candy around the place while you've been doing those pull-ups, and you've really kinda taken our minds off what's been a pretty crappy week. So yeah, I'd say you've fulfilled your mission, man. You're off duty now, soldier. Stand down."

"Oh," Josh says, blindly willing to go with what seems like logic. And as Rhett's mouth finds his again, and Link's incredibly blue eyes watch them happily, he's pretty sure he can feel the last, sensible part of his brain shutting down for the night.

  
  
  



	2. Rhet(t)oric

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's nice to just lie in bed and talk, sometimes. Then again, whilst you're _in_ bed...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh, this is Rhett/Josh. This little scene wouldn't leave me alone. Josh is such a good distraction.

  
  
  
There’s something to be said for introducing food to the bedroom, Rhett concludes, tucking an arm behind his head as he relaxes back on the pillow and gazes up at the ceiling, unable to stop the faint smile on his face that’s been lingering for the last five minutes. On his left, Link is sprawled face down, naked as the day is long on top of the sheets and fast asleep, his head turned towards Rhett on his pillow, a faint sheen of sweat in the hollow at the small of his back. His face is relaxed and soft without the dark frame of his glasses, and there's a swipe of something across one of his cheeks that Rhett’s pretty sure is a stripe of peanut butter, a memento. Link's warpaint. 

On his right, Josh is sitting up against the headboard, his left hand buried in Rhett’s hair and stroking gently through his curls, his right hand tapping something out on his phone, squinting a little with just the bedside lamp to light his way. The rain's still falling outside, pattering against the windows softly. The room is warm and a little sweaty, a sweet, syrupy scent in the air.

“Hey,” Rhett says quietly. “You makin’ notes on our techniques?”

Josh looks down at him, smiling. “Yeah, I’m writing about it in my blog. ‘Hey guys. So today I had a threesome with a giant and a peanut-butter obsessive...’”

“That's some clickbait, man.” 

“I’d probably just get irate ‘pics or it didn’t happen’ comments. No one has any faith anymore, y'know?”

“What’re you really doing?”

“Just an idea for a recipe I want to get down before I forget it.”

“Don’t stop thinkin’ about food for long, do you?”

“Like, maybe thirty minutes of a day, total. Don't try to tell me you're any different, though.”

Rhett smiles. “What’s the recipe?”

“Some kind of chocolate cake drenched with peanut butter-infused maple syrup. Y’know, a sachertorte, or something, but extra Link-ified.”

Rhett sighs. He can still taste all three of those flavours in his mouth. “He’ll leave me for you, at this rate. You should know, he’s a little high maintenance. And he always falls asleep after sex.”

“‘M I keeping you awake? I can switch the light off if you want.”

“I’m not getting a whole lotta sleep at the moment, but thanks anyway,” Rhett says, closing his eyes as Josh’s fingers run slowly across his scalp. Normally he kind of objects to people ruining the curls that take him a fair while to get tamed in the morning, but he’s not gonna complain about this. Kind of hopes Josh never stops, if he’s honest. 

“I’m kind of an insomniac myself,” Josh admits, putting his phone down on the bedside table and relaxing back against the headboard, using that hand to rub across his eyes. His glasses are over on the other side somewhere, arms tangled up with Link’s pair. 

“That’d be why we see you in the kitchen at work at two in the morning,” Rhett deduces, moving his head on the pillow so it’s closer to Josh’s hip. “I thought you were just a workaholic. Guess you’re both, hmm?”

“Pretty much. Link always sleep this deep?”

“You have no idea. I’ve seen him sleep on missions, mid-peril. He’ll go from zero to a hundred in a matter of seconds.”

“What a _skill_.”

“Yeah. Wish I could be the same way.” 

“I can’t even remember what it’s like to sleep solidly through a night.”

"Can't say I know of any agents who do, man."

There's a long, weighty silence before Josh says pensively: “Sometimes I feel like a failure, y’know? I go through all that training, they spend all that money on training me, and then I only make it, what, five years? People were disappointed, and I couldn’t blame them, honestly.” 

“Josh..." Rhett hesitates for a moment before ploughing on, "man, you have serious mental health issues. PTSD isn’t something you just brush to one side. Thousands of veterans have killed themselves because of it. It’s what the psych’s ‘round here call ‘A Big Deal’.”

“You know I can’t even look at a bus anymore without my heart racing? A _bus_.”

Rhett reaches out to take one of Josh's hands in his own, curling their fingers together. Time for some honesty, he figures. “I’m triggered by the smell of Dawn dish soap. The apple one.”

“How come?”

“Because I was once tortured by a guy whose hands smelled of it. Guess he’d just done the washing up.” 

Josh is silent for a moment after that stark revelation, then: “Fuck. Remind me to check what we have at work.” 

“Don’t worry, it’s not that one. Stevie promised to ban it from the building.”

“Just for you?”

“Well, we’ve worked together a long time, now, y'know? We've got kind of an understanding. You want me to get her to move the bus stop from down the street?”

Josh smiles. “Only if she’s got the time between masterminding the entire company and chewing me out for making you guys burgers and hotdogs instead of grilled chicken salads.”

Rhett sighs. "She doesn't understand the needs of the big man. Or any men, actually."

Josh huffs a little laugh at that. They fall silent for a while, cogitating, Rhett's thumb dragging back and forth across Josh's knuckles. Link shifts just a little, one of his arms coming in closer to his chest.

“This is nice," Josh says, eventually. "I actually don't mind if I don't get any sleep, y'know? It feels safe here, right now.” 

“It is nice,” Rhett agrees. “It’s real nice. We may as well do somethin’ while we wait for sleep to take hold. You mind if I come up there and kiss you again?”

“How about I come down there instead?”

“Even better.” 

Josh untangles his fingers from Rhett’s hair and shifts down the bed, turning onto his right side and propping himself on one elbow, resting the other hand on Rhett’s chest. Rhett smiles at him. There’s something warm and comforting about that heavy press over his sternum. He reaches out, curls a hand around Josh’s jaw. He feels and smells like maple syrup, sweet and kind of sticky, and he’s not even sure if it’s on Josh’s face or his own hands, but he’s not opposed to it, whatever.

"'Your back okay?" Josh asks, eyes looking him over carefully. 

Rhett shifts, an experiment, feeling out those burns on his back. They're healing up fast now, shallower than he'd thought they might be, the antiseptic salve keeping them clean. "Feels fine," he promises, running his thumb under the hard notch of Josh's jaw. "Thanks, though. For remembering." 

"Tell me if you need to move, okay?"

"Hey, don't worry man. I'm made of stern stuff, over here." 

"Yeah, I'm getting that picture," Josh says earnestly, and he touches Rhett's right forearm gently where a clean, white bandage still covers those slashes and cuts. For a long second Rhett feels the intensity of insight and affinity in Josh's blue eyes like a weight on his chest that takes his breath away, and then Josh is leaning in and Rhett breathes again, and he's happy, _so_ happy, his fingers buried in the short hair at the back of Josh's head, Josh's hand sliding slowly down to press over the flat of his belly, his lips warm and soft. 

So many things in that moment make him happy: The rain on the window, the soft sheets underneath him, the ghost of Link's breaths against his left shoulder, the lazy beat of his own heart, the gentle, insistent press of Josh's mouth against his own.

Everything is sensory and instinctive, nothing is difficult, or painful, or hard.

That last word makes him smile to himself, and makes Josh break the kiss to look at him, head tilted in question.

“Sorry, just thinkin' about...well, it doesn't matter," Rhett says apologetically. "Let's just say making out really works for me. Really, a _lot_."

“Hey, me too. You think we have an oral fixation?” Josh asks, his gaze going from Rhett's eyes to his mouth, then back up again, a hint of mischief in his expression that Rhett thinks probably equals his own.

Rhett's smirk is going _nowhere_.

If he's learned anything tonight it's that Josh’s mouth is, frankly, a treasure. Josh licks, and Josh sucks, and Josh _swallows_. Rhett’s never met anyone with quite such an insatiable appetite for...well, _everything_. Watching Link's expression of pure bliss as Josh had deep-throated every freakin' inch of him had been quite the eye-opener. And, Rhett was willing to admit, without a hint of envy, that it was really no mean-feat where Link was concerned. Really.

Leaning back in, he burrows back into Josh's space and kisses him again, that image in his head sending heat right down through his core, pooling right where Josh's big hand rests between his hipbones. Josh is as enthusiastic about making out as he is at most things, and seems to have the same patience for it that Rhett does. Rhett always revels in the whole experience of kissing, the taste and the touches and the soft sounds, and the way it slowly, slowly ramps up just how turned on he is. He's spent so many hours with Link's lips on his, Link's tongue in his mouth, Link's hand buried in his hair, and he's never tired of it yet.

_Speaking of Link_, he thinks, as he breaks off to nuzzle a series of kisses along the hard line of Josh's jaw:

“Thanks for introducing peanut butter into Link’s sex life, by the way. Things may never be the same again.”

Josh smiles. Practically beams. "Sorry, man. Every time he opens the jar he's gonna think about it..."

Rhett groans at the thought. "He's already insatiable. I'm doomed."

"Hey, the way I see it, I've done you a favour. I mean, _look_ at him."

Rhett smiles at the slight tone of reverence in Josh's tone. He can so totally relate to that. “And you say you’re a failure?” he asks rhetorically, shaking his head as he slides a hand onto Josh’s hip and moves down to kiss the soft, pale skin there. “You feed us fried chicken instead of grilled chicken salads despite having the scary boss at your heels, you've added a little something to mine and Link's love life...Man, my life improved one hundred per cent when you came along.”

“You’re kinda easy to please, Rhett,” Josh says earnestly, a little breathy as Rhett’s kisses make the nerves in his side shiver.

Rhett laughs, a soft rumble as his thumb traces that long, pale line from Josh’s navel downwards, that touch provoking a tensing of muscles that makes him pause and look up. Josh is looking down at him with slightly cautious eyes.

“Alright?” he asks carefully. 

Josh nods, heart thumping visibly in his chest. “Just kind of...hell of a memory attached to that.”

Rhett nods, understanding, and presses a soft kiss to the middle of that bisecting line, before moving higher and pressing his lips to the lowest edge of Josh’s breastbone instead, trailing slowly upwards.

“Sorry,” he whispers against hot skin. 

Josh breathes deeply under Rhett’s mouth. “Don’t be.” 

“I am. I’m sorry someone hurt you,” Rhett murmurs, sliding his tongue into the soft hollow between Josh’s collar bones. “You didn’t deserve it.” 

“I was caught.”

“Join the club.” 

“I should’ve been more careful.” 

“No,” Rhett says, shaking his head, curls brushing under Josh’s chin. “Not possible.”

“You weren’t there,” Josh says, writhing a little as Rhett’s teeth nip at his throat.

“Didn’t need to be.” 

Josh winds his fingers into Rhett’s hair, tilting his head back as Rhett lowers himself down until they’re chest to chest. “Why’re you being…” he’s cut off by the curse that escapes him as Rhett’s hips rock down against him, and it’s a moment before he finds the breath to finish, “...nicer to me than my therapist ever was?”

Rhett breathes in a deep, slow breath that makes their ribs slide together, then he exhales, warm against Josh’s neck. “Because you’ve been told some shit that’s messed with your mind. You’re not a disappointment, man. You’re not worthless, you’re not ‘damaged goods’, you’re not ‘a waste’. And I get it. I do. But I have Link, who keeps my head in the right place because he’s an angel, and if you don’t have anyone then I’m gonna make sure I do the job. Okay?”

"Oh..." Josh says softly. He pushes up against Rhett's body and Rhett hums a quiet sound of encouragement, sliding a hand under the arch of Josh's back to really mould against the frame of his body. Josh is strong, and it's no end of a turn-on to feel that strength underneath him, wound around him. Josh hooks a leg around the back of Rhett's thigh and Rhett thrusts against him, closing his eyes as both of Josh's hands run slowly from his hips and up over his sides, his ribs, and to the jut of his shoulder blades, never once touching the damaged skin, never once hurting him.

Rhett draws up on his arms, locking his elbows until they're just hip-to-hip and he can gaze down at Josh and the swell of his heart under his ribs.

That dim bedside lamp's glinting in Josh's blue eyes and highlighting every shadow between his ribs, the lines of muscle from his hips, the sharp edge of his collar bones. It’s intimate and soft. It's _hot_.

Rhett leans down as Josh leans up, their mouths meeting in a hard, determined kiss, Josh reaching up to cup Rhett's face with one hand and bring him down by the back of his neck with the other, Rhett landing on his forearms and pushing their hips together again in a way that makes both of them moan. Rhett glances over at the bedside table and before he can even begin to think or move or speak Josh is reaching over there and grabbing the lube, bringing it over and pressing it into one of Rhett's hands. 

“C’mon, man,” he encourages, hands moving to press into the small of Rhett's back, just reaching the curve of his ass.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I kind of feel I oughtta experience both of you inside me before the night's over, y'know?"

Rhett smirks as he pops the cap. "What is this, a 'gotta catch 'em all' scenario?"

"Yeah, 'cept this is poke a man, not Pokemon," Josh says blithely, breathing in deeply as Rhett slides a finger right on in.

Rhett shakes his head in amusement. "Oh, gosh..." he says, and he crooks his finger _deep_ and Josh's fingers delve hard into the bedsheets.

Josh just laughs a little breathlessly and takes what Rhett's giving, tilting his head back and just _enjoying_ it.

Rhett smiles fondly and leans back down, and for a good minute or two he concentrates on sucking and biting a mark into Josh's long, pale throat, sliding his fingers in deep and slow, over, and over.

"Oral fixation," Josh reminds him happily. 

"Mmm," Rhett agrees, and he puts his free arm under Josh's leg and lifts it up and out of the way, and pushes right into him, a blunt, slow slide.

"_Fuck..._," Josh swears raggedly, fingers twisting the sheets tightly, his entire body arching up towards Rhett to bring him closer, to take it all in. Rhett presses his forehead to Josh's shoulder and breathes through that initial shock of sensation, his hands spreading wide around the curve of Josh's ribcage.

It's been a while since he fucked - properly _fucked_ \- anyone but Link. The last person had been Mike, dark and slender and intense, pressed up against the wall of a tiled shower wall as they'd washed away the blood and sweat of another difficult mission, using up the last of their residual adrenaline on each other. As he recalled, Link and Alex had been doing the same in the bedroom, the sound of their relieved, loving laughter just audible over the sound of the water and Mike's tired, heavy breaths.

One of Josh's hands comes up to the back of his head, fingers threading into his hair, a gentle encouragement that stirs him from the vivid memory. Rhett opens his eyes, lifts his head enough to see the quick, swelling pulse in Josh's throat, and starts to move.

Josh's fingers tighten for just a second before relaxing, his head turning against the pillow to nudge Rhett into another kiss. Rhett falls into it gladly, smiling faintly against Josh's lips as Josh raises that leg of his even higher and hooks his foot over Rhett's shoulder, a flexibility Rhett's only ever dreamed of.

_God_, it feels good. It all feels so good, Josh's warm skin against his own, the heat of his body, the slow rhythm between them. Hard to believe just a few days before he was...

His brain takes that moment to flash up images of a sink full of icy cold water, of a syringe filled with pale pink liquid, of the glint of a scalpel in his peripheral vision, and as his pounding heart tries to escape through his chest he buries his face against Josh's throat, buries himself in Josh's strong body, and closes his eyes tightly. He tries for mindfulness, focussing on his breaths, on every place where his body touches Josh, on every thrust of his hips. He focusses on the sweetness that still lingers in his mouth, and he drags his tongue up the side of Josh's throat to taste the salt of sweat.

"God, Rhett," Josh gasps, and Rhett slides a hand down between them to wrap around him, until the images are fading from his mind and the only thing that matters is right that second; the tight heat of Josh and the hard dick in his hand, and the coiling sensation low in his belly.

"I'm gonna come in you," he murmurs against Josh's shoulder, "'s that okay?" 

"_Yes_," Josh answers breathlessly. "Yeah." 

Rhett lifts his head to kiss him again and it's as he does so that he feels the weight of a sharp, hungry gaze on him, familiar enough to send a shiver down his spine; realises he hasn't heard the slow, hypnotic breaths at his side for a few minutes. He turns his head enough to see Link's eyes, watchful and predatory, the darkest, silvery blue. Link pushes up on his arms, leaning in as Rhett does the same and kissing him with an intent that Rhett feels from head to toe. His mouth is hot and his fingers are gentle as he strokes a hand across Rhett's beard.

He leans over Josh next, nuzzling a kiss against his jaw before moving across to his lips, his hand trailing feather-soft across Josh's throat, sliding over Rhett's bite-mark. Watching Josh and Link kiss hasn't changed from being anything but a wonderful _thump_ to Rhett's chest. Something he could stare at for hours on end. He can feel Josh's heart beating hard between them, quick and solid, as Link pulls back to look between the two of them with that 'cat with the cream' expression.

"Don't stop," he encourages. "You look amazing. Thought I was still dreamin'."

Rhett reaches an arm out to grasp the back of Link's neck, pulling him closer. "Here," he says softly, "you've got a little..." and he leans in and licks that sticky stripe off Link's cheek, the salty sweetness of peanut butter warm across his tongue.

"Oh...thanks," Link says with a grin, and then Rhett's the one with a hand at the back of his neck and Josh is pulling him down, kissing him with enough tongue to let Rhett know he's after a taste too. It makes him laugh, his heart cracking wide open with affection for both of them.

Link props his head on his hand and watches them with a happy, open smile. He's relaxed and he's _beautiful_. "C'mon, Rhett," he says quietly. "Give him what he needs, man."

Rhett presses his forehead to Josh's shoulder with a smile of his own and picks up the pace, every thrust and slide of his hips and twist of his wrist making Josh surge back against him, a perfect, natural ebb and flow to their movement together. He slides his free arm underneath Josh's neck and holds him close, their bodies intertwined, sinuous and strong. Josh keeps hold of the back of Rhett's neck with one hand and his other arm flops out to the side, reaching blindly and finding Link's fingers. Link gathers his hand up between both of his own, holding it tightly.

Josh _comes_, a writhing thrust of his body that Rhett feels so intensely, wet against his belly and tight around his dick, and for a moment the fingers around his neck grip him hard enough to make him groan and then Josh begins to relax inch by inch, and when Rhett lifts his head to look down at him he sees peace. Link's hand is on Josh's forehead, gentle and supportive, and Josh's eyes are closed with a quiet kind of bliss, his hand falling away from Rhett and dropping to the bed, his chest heaving for breath. Rhett fucks him through it, his own release just seconds away, watching the faint notch of an over-stimulated frown of concentration form between Josh's brows.

"C'mon, Rhett," he says, voice a little wrecked as he opens his eyes again, a vivid blue that Rhett holds hazily as he gets closer and closer to the edge, and then quieter, "Come inside me, man."

And that's _that_.

Rhett knows he's holding Josh tightly enough he might break him if Josh weren't so fucking tough, but he's lost in the high, his mind beautifully, wonderfully blank of everything but pleasure, his body _alive_ with it. He comes so hard it feels like he's tensed every muscle in his belly, his hips pressed so tightly to Josh's he can feel the slick wet between their skin. He thrusts again, once, twice more, then his arms start to weaken, losing his balance and strength and dropping him down into Josh's arms. Josh groans softly as his leg comes back down to normal position, his hands stroking slowly up and down Rhett's sides as they breathe together, the only sound in the sudden quiet. Rhett feels the relaxation start to spread through every limb.

"Fuck, Josh," he says, muffled against Josh's shoulder. "Fuck."

"Yeah," Josh agrees, a little dazed.

They're hot and sticky and damp with sweat, and Rhett knows he'll have to move soon and give Josh a chance to get a proper lungful of air, but for the moment he just wants to feel that sense of serenity settling over him like a blanket. He feels one of Link's hands curl around his wrist and he exhales slowly.

Soft lips press against his shoulder.

Josh's hands settle at his hips. 

Rhett closes his eyes and drifts, warm, and safe, and loved.

  
  
  



End file.
